This invention relates to communications networks and to call centers.
Unlike circuit-switched communications networks, such as telephone networks, packet-switched communications networks, such as the Internet, are typically used to convey non-real-time information such as data, as opposed to realtime information such as voice calls. However, it is known in the art that voice communications can be carried by the Internet or other data networks and that these communications can be interfaced by a gateway to the telephone network so that a voice-enabled computer or an Internet phone connected to the Internet network can engage in a voice call with a standard telephone connected to the telephone network. An illustrative example of such a capability is disclosed in xe2x80x9cInternet Hop Offxe2x80x9d, Computer Telephony, Vol. 4, Issue 3 (March 1996), pp. 10-11.
Telephony call centers are conventionally adapted to handle standard telephone calls. Advanced call centers often have a capability known as xe2x80x9cscreen popxe2x80x9d, wherein the caller identification information, such as ANI (automatic number identification), which is supplied to the call center as a part of setting up the call to the call center, is used by the call center to retrieve data records pertaining to the calling party and display the records on the display screen of the terminal being used by the call-center agent who is assigned to handle the call, at the same time as the call is connected to that agent""s telephone.
Recently, call centers have come into existence that are able to interact with users of the Internet. All such call centers are believed to use a xe2x80x9ccallbackxe2x80x9d feature in order to effect communications with the Internet user. They generally work as follows. An Internet user uses a browser on his or her Internet terminal to contact a World-Wide Web page of a call-center customer on a Web server, in a conventional manner. The page may have a virtual button or some other software-based indicator by means of which the user may indicate a desire to speak with a representative of the customer. If the user makes use of the indicator, the user is prompted to enter his or her telephone number. This number is conveyed to the server, which in turn sends it to the customer""s call center. The call center uses the supplied telephone number to place a standard outbound call to the user""s telephone, and also uses the telephone number to effect a xe2x80x9cscreen popxe2x80x9d when the called user answers. An illustrative example of such a call center is disclosed in xe2x80x9cRockwell Teams with Dialogic to Build Groupware Servers for Small Centersxe2x80x9d, Computer Telephony, Vol. 4, Issue 4 (April 1996), p. 112.
xe2x80x9cCall backxe2x80x9d call centers have disadvantages over call centers that handle inbound telephone calls, however. One disadvantage is that, after having indicated a desire to speak to a representative of the call center customer, the Internet user must wait for the callback. This delay may be annoying to the user. Moreover, the user may become unavailable during this wait, for example, due to receipt of an intervening phone call. But the principal disadvantage is that most Internet usersxe2x80x94at least residential usersxe2x80x94presently typically have only one telephone line available to each of them, and they use this telephone line for the Internet access. Thus, unless and until the Internet user ends his or her Internet session and frees up his or her telephone line, the call center cannot reach the user.
This invention is directed to solving these and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art. The inventors have realized that the problems associated with xe2x80x9ccall backxe2x80x9d call centers can be avoided by not relying on call center xe2x80x9ccall backxe2x80x9d, and instead using the gateway (Internet-to-telephone call interface) capability mentioned previously to convert the user""s Internet call to a telephone call and connect the telephone call to the call center as an inbound call.
This approach presents another difficulty, however. Because an Internet call does not originate in the telephone network, and the Internet does not use telephone numbers as network addresses, caller-identification information such as ANI is not available for a telephone call that has been converted from an Internet call. Hence, the call center which receives the converted call is unable to do xe2x80x9cscreen popsxe2x80x9d for the caller until the call-center agent answers the call and interrogates the caller for his or her identity. This greatly lessens the efficiency of call center operations.
The inventors have come up with a solution to this problem as well. According to the invention, the gateway that converts the Internet call to a telephone call obtains the user""s identification, such as his or her telephone number, from the user via the Internet, converts the obtained information into caller identification information, such as ANI, and provides this information to the call center along with the converted call in the conventional manner, such as by including it in the call set-up message of the incoming call to the call center. Consequently, the call center is able to function in its conventional manner and without any modification or loss of functionality, even though the calling party is not a telephone caller but an Internet caller.
These and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from a description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention taken together with the drawing.